Sophomore Olivia Zhao stands at the starting line of the San Francisco Marathon’s first half in late July, surrounded by thousands of runners buzzing with anticipation. The chaos, the chatter and the nerves at one of her first half-marathons pressed in on her all at once, making her feel both overwhelmed and exhilarated. 

“I was nervous because I’ve never run beside so many people in my life before,” Olivia said. “It also felt really inspirational since so many people were out there, some who weren’t even running. It felt so good that the community was there to support you and push you to be the best.”

Olivia’s path to long-distance running began in middle school, when she joined the track team but mainly focused on short sprints. However, she gained an interest in long-distance running this past year, starting with 5Ks and 10Ks before her dad encouraged her to do her first half-marathon.

“For long-distance, it’s more about mentality rather than speed and strength, because you have to have the mindset to keep on going and endure,” Olivia said. “In long-distance, you have to keep thinking about the end and pace yourself, but in short distance you’re just thinking about trying to go as fast as you can.”

To prepare, Olivia changed her diet to incorporate more protein. She also ran around a 400-meter track everyday, doing a combination of slower paced-runs that build endurance and sprints for speed. Even on days when she felt tired, Olivia made sure she ran to the best of her ability.

“You have to change your mindset to not stop or not quit, even if you’re not feeling well,” Olivia said. “Especially some days when I’m training, I’m not feeling my best, but I still try my best. Those days when you aren’t feeling good and keep on pushing yourself [are the] times you get stronger.”

Middle School Division Head Evan Barth has also been drawn to long-distance sports since he was young. Growing up, he often spent weekends on long bike rides and later turned to triathlons as a way to stay healthy by mixing in different forms of exercise like running and swimming. He finds mental clarity especially in the training aspect of the sport.

While training brings a sense of focus and calm for Barth, he also highlights how it comes with its own share of difficulties. He noted that preparing for major events sometimes leaves him in situations where his body is pushed to exhaustion.

“I always hit a training run or ride where I just bottom out — run out of water, get overheated or feel completely depleted,” Barth said. “But I like those moments, because I’ve pushed my body as far as it can go and found what it can’t do. Then, I do everything possible to make sure I don’t get there again.”

While Barth reflects on the personal challenges of training for endurance sports, junior Sean Wang views long-distance running as a way to connect with peers through bonding with his fellow teammates. Having joined cross country as a frosh for fun, he continues to run as a hobby and credits his team for making him feel engaged and supported while participating in the sport.

“[It’s challenging to get] myself to run on my own, because for me, [long-distance] running is a very social thing,” Sean said. “It’s something that I associate with my teammates and my friends. During practice, if I’m struggling and someone I know who is faster than me runs up to me and is like, ‘Hey, you’re doing great,’ [I’ll] just keep running. That’s really motivating, but then we also get to bond because they’re encouraging me to keep going forward.”

For those interested in starting long-distance running, Sean offered advice drawn from his experience on the team.

“Just take the leap of faith,” Sean said. “[Running is] a very forgiving sport. No one’s going to try and push you down or demotivate you, because the long-distance running community is all in it together. We all know of the pain, and we’re all here to welcome you.”